Loading and wadding device for shotgun shells



June 12,1956 w. c. MILLER 2,749,790

LOADING AND WADDING DEVICE FOR SHOTGUN SHELLS Filed May 18, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m m 3 4 a C l INVENTOR zab'zzi's a/z a'zzer ATTORNEYS June 12, 1956 LOADING AND WADDING DEVICE FOR SHOTGUN SHELLS Filed May 18, 1953 W. C. MILLER 5 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR ZQzlllz's G M0] Z er ATTORNEYS June 12, 1956 w. c. MILLER 2,749,790

LOADING AND WADDING DEVICE FOR SHOTGUN SHELLS Filed May 18, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 5 2 8 9 R 5 w 5 5 a 4 w a 4 r P 3 5 I Te NZ 5 4 El 4 VI mM 9 C /m 5 an .U /5 w BY M 7% ATTORNEYS l1 1 I 8 4. a 8 9 3 6 A 2 5 5 7 4 6 a, 4 4 0 a a 4 5 3 4 5 5 B w & 9 vvvav v$vfi "null-UH \\\\\\.\\\\\\\..E n I .1 I. I .2 A 1 m m I l United States LOADING AND WADDING DEVICE FGR SHGTGUN SHELLS The present invention is directed to, and it is a major object to provide, a novel device for efiectively and safely loading and wadding used but previously reprirned shotgun shells.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device, for the purpose described, which is operative-in successive steps, and without intervening manipulation of the shells. other than movement of a shell carrying tumtable ring-to load powder in each shell, place wadding therein, and then load the shot.

An additional object of the instant invention is to provide a novel hopper assembly and valve unit for feeding the powder and shot at the proper time, and in accurately measured quantity, into the shells.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel wadding unit operative to place one or more wads into each shell readily and with proper pressure; such unit including means to assure of easy passage of each wad, without obstruction by the open end of the shell, into the latter from an initial position in the wadding unit at a point above said shell.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shotgun shell loading device which, in its normal functioning, prevents the introduction of a double charge of powder in a shell or the missing of a charge.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a shotgun shell loading and wadding device designed for ease and economy of manufacture, simplicity and convenience of use, and high capacity.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical, reliable, and durable loading and wadding device for shotgun shells, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure andrelative arrangement of parts as will fully appear bya perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation, on line 3--3 of Fig. 2, of the hopper assembly and valve unit; the latter being shown in powder feeding and shot receiving position.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, but shows the valve unit reversed; i. e. in powder receiving and shot feeding position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse elevation, mainly in section, taken through the hopper assembly, valve unit, and plunger unit; the latter being shown in its raised or starting position.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary end elevation similar to Fig. 6 but showing the plunger unit in its lowered or wadding position; said plunger unit being mainly in section.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the novel, shotgun shell loading and wadding device comprises a horizontal mounting atent plate 1 fitted centrally thereof with a circular base 2 surrounded by a turntable ring .3; such ring having a plurality of vertical bores 4 therethrough in equally circumferentially spaced relation. The bores 4 are each adapted for the reception, from below, of an upwardly opening shotgun shell 5 which has previously been reprirned and is ready for loading and wadding. Each bore 4 is enlarged at its lower end, as at 6, for reception of the rim of the shell; placement of shells 5 in the bores 4, and the removal of said shells therefrom, being made possible by notching out one corner of the mounting plate 1, as at 7. Such notched-out portion 7 is of an extent to underlie the path of the bores 4, and when the plate 1 .is secured to a work bench or the like it is disposed with said notched-out portion 7 clear of the bench, or in alinement with a suitable opening in the latter.

The shotgun shells 5, after being placed in the turntable ring 3, are carried through a full-circle of motion by the latter, but which motion is step by step; each step being a distance equal to the distance between the centers of adjacent bores 4. In such circular path of travel the shotgun shells 5 are disposed in succession at a powder loading station A, a wadding station B, and a shot loading station C; such stations being on the side of the device oppositethe notch '7, and being in adjacent or immediately following relationship.

A standard 8 is secured on the base 2 laterally in? wardly from station E, and at its upper end such standard supports a powder and shot magazine, indicated generally at 9; such magazine including a powder hopper 10 and a shot hopper 11. The powder hopper 10 is on the side of the magazine adjacent station A, while the shot hopper 11 is on the side adjacent station C.

At its lower end the magazine 9 is fitted with a powder and shot feed valve unit, indicated generally at 12; such unit being horizontal and extending from side to side of the magazine.

The powder and shot feed valve unit 12 comprises a horizontal tube 13 open at opposite ends and having a reciprocable or shuttle type plunger 14 therein. The hoppers 10 and 11 are formed at the bottom with feed openings 15 and 16, respectively, which open downward through the tube 13, while the plunger 14 has a pair of vertical measuring chambers 17 and 18 opening therethrough; the spacing of the chambers 17 and 18 being greater than the spacing of the feed openings 15 and 16.

The chamber 17 is adapted to register with the feed opening 15, whereby to receive a measured quantity of powder 19 from hopper it) when the plunger 14 is in one position (see Fig. 4), while the measuring chamber 18 is adapted to receive a measured quantity of shot 20 from the hopper 11 when the plunger 14 is in another position (see Fig. 3). A stop pin 21 on the tube 13 works in a longitudinal slot 21a in plunger 14 to limit the extent of reciprocation of said plunger 14.

At the end which corresponds to the powder hopper 10, the tube 13 is fitted with a depending powder delivery spout 22, while at the end which corresponds to the shot hopper 11 the tube 13 is fitted with a depending shot delivery spout 23. The spouts 22 and 23 are of a length and are disposed so that they terminate at their inner ends of said rods projecting, as tips 31 and 32, into the measuring chambers 17 and 18, respectively.

The extent of projection of the tips 31 and 32 controls, within accurate limits, the capacity of said chambers 17 and.- 18.

With the above described arrangement of the plunger 14, and the particular spacing of the feed openings 15 and 16 in; relation tothe chambers '17; and 18, respectively, a full stroke of the plunger in one direction as in Fig. 3, from the position as in Fig. 4, registers the chamber 17 with thespout 22, so that a measured quantity of powder delivers down said spout into the alined shell at station A. At the same time the measuring chamber 18 is filled with shot from the hopper 11.

Upon a full stroke of the plunger 14 in the opposite direction, the chamber 17 returns to a leading position below the powder hopper 10, and the measuring chamber 18 registers with the spout 23, delivering a measured quantity of shot down such spout into the adjacent and alined shell 5 at station C.

It will thus be recognized that by the simple stroking of the plunger 14 first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, alternate feed through spouts 22 and 23 of the powder andshot, respectively, is effected.

In front of the standard 8 and magazine 9 the device includes, in vertical alinement, with station B, a shell wadding unit, indicated generally at 33, and which is constructed as follows:

A web 34 projects forwardly from the standard 8 below the valve unit 12, and at its outer end such web supports a guide sleeve 35 whose lower end terminates a substantial distance above but in alinement with a shell at station B. An inner sleeve 36 having a stop head 37 at its upper end, and a collar 38 at its lower end, is disposed in the guide sleeve 35 for limited vertical motion. When the guide sleeve 35 is in its lowermost position the collar 38 still remains above the open end of the shell at station B.

The collar 38 secures, on the lower end of the inner sleeve 36, a circumferential row of downwardly projecting, inwardly inclined spring fingers 39; the normal lower end diameter of such spring fingers being slightly lesser than that of a wad 40 manually deposited in the inner sleeve 36 through half-circle mouths 41 and 42 in the sleeves 35 and 36, which mouths register when said inner sleeve 36 is in its raised starting position.

A plunger 43 extends into the inner sleeve 36 from above, running in relatively slidable but frictional engagement through a bushing 44 which is fitted in said sleeve 36.

The frictional engagement is such as to cause the sleeve 36 to travel with the plunger 43 on its down-stroke and tip-stroke to the extent of the limited travel permitted of said sleeve 36.

Downward travel of the inner sleeve 36 through the limit of its motion is stopped by the head 37, while upward travel of said sleeve is limited by a shoulder S which comes into abutment with the bushing 44'.

In its. raised starting position the plunger 43 is disposed so that its lower end is above the then registering mouths 41 and 42 so as not to obstruct the manual placement of a wad, 40 through such mouths, and which wad then drops into engagement with the spring fingers 9.

At its upper end the plunger 43 is pivoted, as at P, to a vertically swingable hand lever 45 intermediate the ends of the latter. Adjacent but short of one end thereof such hand lever 45 is pivoted, as at- 46, to a swing link 47 pivoted, as at 48, to the upper end of a post 49 secured to the mounting plate 1. At the end beyond the link 47 the hand lever 45 is connected to a tension spring 50 which normally but yieldably maintains the hand lever 45in raised position.

The upwardly projecting portion of the plunger 43 has a vertically adjustable stop nut 51 threaded thereon; such nut being adapted to abut the stop head 37 to limit the extent of downward travel of said plunger 43.

The above described shotgun shell loading and wadding device is used in the following manner to successively load and wad the shells 5 as they progress step by step through the stations A, B, and C.

With a given shell 5 at station A plunger 14 of the valve unit 12 is shifted in a direction to deliver a measured quantity of powder 19 from the chamber 17 to the spout 22, whence said powder feeds into the shell at station A.

The turntable ring 3 is then progressed one step, and a wad 49 is deposited in the inner sleeve 36 through the registering months 41 and 42, as previously described.

Thereafter, the hand lever 45 is pulled downwardly, first causing the inner sleeve 36 to lower to the extent of its travel, which causes the circumferential row of spring fingers 39 to engage in the upper end of the shell 5 at station E. The plunger 43 then moves downward through said inner sleeve 36, engaging the wad, pushing it through the circumferential row of spring fingers 39 and into the shell 5. In the final portion of the down-stroke of plunger 43, said wad 40 is seated firmly and with desired pressure on the powder charge previously fed into said shell.

When this has been accomplished, the hand lever 45 is released so that the plunger and the inner sleeve 36' raise to their starting position. If another wad, such asa cushion wad, is desired in the shell, such a cushion wad is engaged in said shell by a repetition of the described wadding operation.

The turntable ring 3 is then again advanced one step so that the shell, with the powder charge and wadding thereon, is progressed to station C. With the shell at said latter station the plunger 14 of the valve unit 12 is shifted in a direcion to cause the measuring chamber 18 to register with the spout 23, whence a measured quantity of shot 20 delivers downwardly through said spout 23 into the shell at said station C.

Thus, by the progression of each shell step by step through stations A, B, and C, with powder feeding, wadding, and shot feeding operations, respectively, at said stations, shotgun shells can be loaded quickly, accurately, and effectively.

After completion of the loading of a shell at station C, and in the next step thereof, each shell moves to a further station, indicated at D. At station D the upper end of the shell is crimped by a crimping device mounted on the base 2 but not here shown; such crimping device being the subject of copending application, Serial No. 357,418, filed May 26, 1953.

In the next progressive step of each shell it returns to a position over the notched-out corner 7, whereupon the shell is manually withdrawn from the turntable ring 3.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as set forth herein.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. A wadding unit for shotgun shells, comprising a mount, means on the mount adapted to support an upwardly opening shotgun shell at a'predetermined station, a standard on the mount, a vertical guide sleeve secured to the standard in vertical alinement with but above a shell at said station, an inner sleeve slidable downward a limited distance in the guide sleeve from a raised starting position, a plunger slidable in the inner sleeve for a downstroke from a raised starting position with the lower end of the plunger above the corresponding end. of the inner sleeve to a lowered position with said endof the plunger in the shell, there being sutficient frictional drag between the plunger and inner sleeve to slide thelatter to its down position and to its raised starting position on the down-stroke and up-stroke, respectively, of the plunger, openings in the sleeves in register at the start and through which openings a wad may be deposited in the inner sleeve, and a circumferential row of spring fingers depending at an inward incline from the lower end of the inner sleeve adapted to receive and downwardly releasably support a wad so deposited, the plunger on its down-stroke pushing the wad through said row of spring fingers into the shell.

2. A wadding unit, as in claim 1, in which said spring fingers are above the shell in the starting position of the inner sleeve but are of a length to project into the shell when said inner sleeve is in its down position.

3. A wadding unit for shotgun shells comprising a mount, a horizontally movable member on the mount to support an upwardly opening shotgun shell for horizontal movement to and from a predetermined station, a sleeve axially alined with and above a shell at said station having References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 347,268 Franklin Aug. 10, 1886 481,127 Wagner Aug. 16, 1892 528,097 Hisey Oct. 23, 1894 659,630 Simmons Oct. 9, 1900 713,032 Wetzig Nov. 4, 1992 772,865 Breckenridge Oct. 18, 1904 1,548,845 Dickerman Aug. 11, 1925 

